PLANT HEIGHT AND FRUIT YIELD OF OKRA AS AFFECTED BY FIELD APPLICATION OF FERTILIZER AND BENLATE IN BIDA, NIGERIA

A factorial experiment involving variety, fertilizer application and fungicide treatment in randomised complete block design was carried out at the Biological garden of the Federal Polytechnic, Bida in the planting seasons of 1999 and 2000 to determine the effects of NPK fertilizer and field benlate application on the growth (height) and fruit yield of four okra varieties. Three seeds/hole were planted on manually prepared ridges at a spacing of 0.30m X 1.00m. Fertilizer was applied as 200Kg/ha NPK (20-10-10) at two weeks after planting (WAP) and 50Kg/ha Urea (46-0-0) top-dressed at 50% flowering. BENLATE at the rate of 20g/20l (w/v) of water was applied at 5WAP and then repeated forth nightly until the experiment was terminated. By the 6,8 and 10 weeks after planting (WAP) the height of ten tagged plants/plot were determined. The numbers of fruits harvested from these tagged plants were also recorded. The results showed that plant height was positively affected by field application of either or both fertilizer and benlate over the control plants. Also, plants treated with both fertilizer and BENLATE had a tendency for more continuous growth and significantly higher fruit yield than those treated differently. This brings higher economic returns to the farmer. [Niger Agric. J. 34 (2003): 74-80

Comparative Analysis of the Profitability of Maize and Sorghum Based Cropping Enterprises in Nigeria State, Nigeria

This study examined the profitability of maize and sorghum based cropping enterprises in Niger State, Nigeria. A multi-stage sampling technique was employed for selecting the respondents and data were collected using structured questionnaires from a total of 360 maize and sorghum- based farming household heads in 9 Local Government Areas across the three agricultural zones of the state. The specific objectives were to estimate the costs and returns of maize and sorghum production under sole and intercropping systems and compare the profitability of these enterprises across the agricultural zones of the State. Descriptive statistics and farm budgeting technique were used to analyze the data collected. The profitability analysis indicate that returns from sole maize cropping enterprise is the lowest but combinations of maize with other crops tends to yield higher returns. Across the State, N1.35, N1.58 and N1.31 was realized for every N1.00 invested in production of maize/sorghum cropping enterprises by farmers in Zone I, Zone II and Zone III of Niger State agricultural zones respectively. The net farm income/ha was N36,735.44 with an average gross margin/ha of N38,378.41 was realized by the maize/sorghum based farmers. The gross ratio of 0.44 and the operating ratio of 0.40 are indicators that maize/sorghum based cropping enterprises was profitable. The study recommended that farmers should be enlightened on the higher returns to investment and profitability of cultivating maize in combination and with other crops instead of sorghum combinations. Appropriate production technologies that reduce labour cost in maize and sorghum production should be adopted by farmers to enhance farmers’ incomes and livelihoods

Performance of Six Generations on Two Rice Crosses under Submergence Stress and Non-stress Conditions

Submergence tolerance has long been regarded as an important breeding objective for rain-fed lowland and deep water rice area. Despite this recognition, there has been limited success in developing rice with improved submergence tolerance in Africa. The present research was aimed at assessing performance of crosses under submergence stressed and non-stressed conditions in Nigeria. Six generations of the crosses were evaluated under optimum and submerged conditions in a complete randomized block design with three replications. Submergence screening was performed in controlled conditions that allowed flooding at a water depth of 1.0 meter for a period of 14 days.  The results revealed that significant difference among the generations of the two crosses evaluated. The observed survival rate (%) in Cross I of the generations ranged between 0.00% - 100% while in Cross II, it ranged between 0.00% and 95.24%. The Phenotypic Coefficients of Variation (PCV) and the Genotypic Coefficient of Variation (GCV) for 100 grain weight were moderate to high under the two conditions. Low to moderate PCV and GCV coefficients of variation were observed for the grain width and grain length under both conditions in the two crosses. High heritability (0.96% respectively) and high genetic advance as percentage of mean were recorded for the grain yield and grain weight in the two crosses. The variability observed among the generations was optimum however, advancement of the segregating generations coupled with adequate selection criteria could lead to identification of superior and stable genotypes for farmers’ use

Screening of Inter-Specific Rice Progeny Lines for African Rice Gall Midge (AfRGM) Resistance

Nine hundred and seventeen inter-specific rice lines were subjected to field screening for African Rice Midge Resistance in both Rainfed and Irrigated lowland ecologies at Badeggi and Edozhigi experimental fields respectively in 2009 cropping season, to determine the levels of African Rice Gall Midge (AfRGM) resistance in Bc3F3 inter-specific lines. The field was laid out in an Augmented Block Design, comprising of three blocks with 305 progenies in each block. The checks were randomized three times in each block. The result indicated that the progenies differ significantly in their resistance to AfRGM, four progenies were found to be resistance across the two locations. However, 7 out of the 146 progenies that have good phenotypic acceptability were resistant at Badeggi, while 5 out of 122 progenies with phenotypic acceptability were found resistant at Edozhigi location. Considering both resistance and phenotypic acceptability scores, only 16 progenies were selected for yield trial in both locations